Serif Updates Affinity Apps for 'Superfast Performance' With M1 Chip
Following Apple's unveiling this week of Macs with the M1 chip, Serif has released new versions of its Affinity apps for Mac that include support for macOS Big Sur and compatibility with Apple Silicon machines.
This means that Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, and Affinity Publisher can be installed and run on Apple's latest 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini without using Apple's Rosetta 2 translation layer.
Serif says that its suite of apps are now actively optimized for the M1 chip, "making Affinity apps the first professional creative applications to offer native M1 support."
This is great news for our users because the architecture of the M1, particularly having such a high-performance GPU with unified memory with the CPU, is perfect for professional creative applications. The advantages are particularly noticeable when working on documents with thousands of pixel layers, vector objects and text. Edits to pixel layers are best handled on the GPU, while vector and text on the CPU, so when you have unified memory, it allows much faster handling of these complex documents.
With the new M1 MacBook Air, Serif reports a three-times speed increase when using its software. Mac customers with the M1 can apparently expect a smoother, more responsive user experience when painting, pixel editing, using filter effects, document rendering, and more.
M1 also allows many more elements such as adjustment layers and live filters to be maintained before performance is constrained, allowing for a more non-destructive workflow, even in complex documents.
The 1.8.6 update for Affinity apps on macOS is now available.
Popular Stories
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store.
The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump.
...
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences.
The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more.
Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features.
Liquid Glass Toggle
iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass.
In the Settings app, under Display...
Apple's online store in the U.S. is suddenly offering a pack of four AirTags for just $29, which is the same price as a single AirTag.
This is likely a pricing error, and it is unclear if orders will be fulfilled. Apple has not discounted the AirTag four-pack in any other countries that we checked.
Delivery estimates are already pushing into late November to early December, suggesting...
The smarter, more capable version of Siri that Apple is developing will be powered by Google Gemini, reports Bloomberg. Apple will pay Google approximately $1 billion per year for a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model that was developed by Google.
For context, parameters are a measure of how a model understands and responds to queries. More parameters generally means more...
Apple in iOS 26.2 will disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union to comply with the bloc's regulations, suggests a new report.
Normally, when an iPhone connects to a new Wi-Fi network, it automatically shares the network credentials with the paired Apple Watch. This allows the watch to connect to the same network independently – for...
IKEA today announced the upcoming launch of 21 new Matter-compatible smart home products that will be able to interface with HomeKit and the Apple Home app. There are sensors, lights, and control options, all of which will be reasonably priced. Some of the products are new, while some are updates to existing lines that IKEA previously offered.
There are a series of new smart bulbs that are...
The all-new intro sequence for Apple TV was made with practical effects and shot in-camera, Ad Age reports.
Rather than using digital techniques, the new sequence was made by shooting large glass versions of the Apple TV logo, with physical motion and changing lighting used to create effects. Apple partnered with TBWA\Media Arts Lab to create the intro.
Ad Age released an exclusive look...
It's been over a decade since Apple's HomeKit smart home platform launched, and it is overdue for an update. HomeKit and the Home app can no longer keep up with AI-powered solutions from other companies like Google and Amazon, but that's set to change with a smart home revamp that Apple has planned for 2026.
Home Hub
Apple is working on a home hub or "command center" that will serve as a...
